It has previously been suggested to provide various kinds of stoves and fireplaces with electrical units, so that when the stove or fireplace is not used to heat a room with solid fuel, it can be used to heat electrically instead.
Such arrangements have hitherto been unsuccessful, however, since those electrical units previously proposed are subjected to high stresses and strains when solid fuel is burned. The heat generated in the hearth space of the stove or fireplace is very high, and since the electrical heating unit must, of necessity, be placed in the vicinity of the hearth space, it is highly difficult, among other things, to protect adequately the electrical supply cables of the unit, so as to prevent the cable casings from burning and disintegrating in the heat.
It is also difficult at times with known stove arrangements to mount the actual electrical elements effectively, and the thermostatic devices necessary to enable the electrical heating unit to function automatically.
It should be mentioned here that known to the art (e.g. from Swedish Lay-open Print No. 409,502, based on U.S. Patent Application Ser. Nos. 538,102 and 606,063 to R. M. Brown) is a heating means for open fireplaces. The internal components, and particularly the fan motor, of said heating means are cooled by air which is recirculated from the room being heated. The solution proposed in this Swedish Lay-open Print is complicated and space consuming. Moreover, cooling will not be effected efficiently if the fan breaks down.